Sanctions — Coerce or Punish?

Ambassador Curtis Ward

(28 October 2025) — In recent months, we have not focused on U.S. sanctions against Trump administration adversaries. Yet we have seen the administration’s use of sanctions is widespread and, in many cases, more severe. These sanctions directly targeted political leaders, particularly of Venezuela and Iran. Targeting political leaders is unusual. We have also seen sanctions against Haitian gang leaders and others connected to them; and we have seen sanctions against other drug traffickers in the region. And Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is an ongoing target. We have seen a ramp up of sanctions against Iran leadership as well. We have also seen threats of secondary sanctions, particularly against India for trading in Russian oil and petroleum products.

We now see sanctions announced against major Russian oil giants. This is not new, but this new round of sanctions is twofold in objective. First it is to coerce Vladimir Putin to meet with Trump and to advance the peace process in the Russia–Ukraine war — to coerce Putin. But in this case the new sanctions announced against Russian oil is also an effort to punish Putin for not cooperating fully with him in ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Ending this conflict would be the gem in the crown of president Trump’s pursuit of the Nobel Peace prize. Putin recently cancelled a summit with Trump announced by the White House. Trump had promoted this summit as a mission accomplished for ending the war. Putin’s decision to cancel is seen by many as a slap in the face to president Trump and at the least a sign of disrespect for the US president. But we have seen Putin’s rejection of peace before and he has suffered no consequences. This time may be different.

Sanctions against major Russian oil companies are not new. But several former sanctions, imposed by former U.S. presidents were eased by the Trump administration partly as inducement to Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, as well as for other often unexplained reasons. The Trump administration, President Trump himself, is mad at Putin for eschewing his peace efforts. These new sanctions are intended as punishment, but also to coerce Putin to change course.

Regime change in Venezuela

New sanctions recently imposed on Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro is to punish the Venezuelan president and to facilitate president Trump’s ultimate objective —regime change. Maduro will not yield. Maduro has a formidable military —not enough to defeat an all out US military invasion but enough to cause significant military damage on U.S. military forces. A major factor will be the extent to which Venezuelan top military leaders, normally loyal to Maduro, will stay the course or turn against Maduro to save the country from all-out war. Added to the mix is the unprecedented $50 million USD bounty the Trump administration has offered for the capture of Maduro, to extract him from the country, and to bound him over to US jurisdiction for trial in the U.S. That amount of money could sway hearts and minds. A CIA covert operation underway in Venezuela would facilitate that process

Removing Maduro from power is not a new policy for president Trump. Regime change was central to the Latin American policy of the first Trump administration. That policy failed when the Trump administration unsuccessfully sought to install Juan Guaido as president of Venezuela. This policy came at a cost for countries in the Americas. This was played out in disunity in the OAS and in CARICOM. This new round of regime change policy could cause far more significant divisions. This is already very clear with the break by the government of Trinidad & Tobago with CARICOM colleagues on the extrajudicial killings of alleged drug traffickers in the southern Caribbean and off the Pacific coast of Colombia by the United States.

How the Caribbean responded

Caribbean governments are caught in the crosshairs of possible violent conflict between the US and Venezuela. It is increasingly clear that the government of Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) has decided to be in Trump’s camp. This poses a dilemma for some CARICOM members who appear to have been caught by surprise. So far, except for the joint CARICOM statement, less T&T – a weak statement to begin with – they have chosen to be silent on an issue of war and peace in their geographical space. This is an area in which many rely for the safety of the tourism industry and the international supply chain–safety of cruise ships, for safe passage of the merchant marine, and the safety of leisure craft and fishing boats. There are no winners in this scenario, and winning the war against Venezuela would be a Pyrrhic victory. Such a victory will not advance U.S. security or economic interests in the Caribbean and the hemisphere.

In addition, this war would shatter the concept of the Caribbean as America’s third border as conceived by former President George W. Bush’s third border initiative (TBI) in 2004, in partnership with CARICOM members plus the Dominican Republic. It would also shatter the concept of the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace. Succeeding presidents have sought to build on the TBI and expand the region’s economy and strengthen the regional security architecture. The Trump administration’s military campaign against Venezuela shatters the original objective of the Caribbean as America’s third border.

Now, the region is being transformed into an arena for war games and conflicts. Caribbean leaders should be concerned. They should in unison express their concerns to the Trump administration. Their concerns cannot be expressed by a mere press statement. They must seek an in-person meeting with president Trump and if that is not possible then with Secretary of State Marco Rubio who doubles as the president’s national security adviser.  Nothing less will suffice. The situation is fast approaching a point of no return. Someone has to take the lead.

The current chair of CARICOM, Jamaica’s prime minister, and Jamaica’s foreign minister as chair of COFCOR have been silent so far. Their leadership in the region is now desperately needed. But are they up to it? We expect no less.

©2025 — The Ward Post / Curtis A. Ward

WE PRAY FOR JAMAICA AND FOR THE SAFETY OF THE JAMAICAN PEOPLE.

LET’S ALL RALLY TO THE SUPPORT OF THE COUNTRY.